Thursday, February 20
Neukölln memorial march honours victims of Hanau attacks, five years on
On Wednesday evening, more than 5,000 people braved sub-zero temperatures to take part in a memorial march commemorating the nine victims of the racist attack in Hanau, which occurred exactly five years ago. The procession began at the High-Deck housing estate in Neukölln and moved towards Sonnenallee. Along the route, organisers projected large-scale images of the victims onto local housing blocks.
On February 19, 2020, nine people with migrant backgrounds were murdered by a neo-Nazi extremist who was already known to the police. In the years since, the Hanau attacks have come to symbolise systemic failures in German policing. The victims’ families have repeatedly accused the authorities of negligence, highlighting that the emergency response number was unmanned on the night of the attack. Investigations later revealed that 13 of the special forces officers on duty that night were members of far-right extremist group chats.
The Berlin memorial march was organised by several left-wing activist groups, including Migrantifa and Global South United. Police monitored the demonstration with 500 officers and a helicopter. Eleven people were detained, but the event remained largely peaceful.
